Patients taking the pill, taranabant, lost an average of six to 12 pounds, depending on dose. Those given a placebo lost about three pounds during the 12-week study, published Tuesday by the journal Cell Metabolism. The research is in the second of three phases of testing needed for U.S. marketing approval.
About 31 percent of Americans older than 20 have abnormally high body fat, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The drug targets a receptor found in the brain and gastrointestinal tract discovered through study on marijuana.
"It's known that when you smoke marijuana, which is a natural chemical that stimulates the receptor, the marijuana has beneficial effects on nausea," said Steven Heymsfield of Merck, the study's head researcher.
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